diff --git a/frontend/src/App.tsx b/frontend/src/App.tsx
index c48b21e..f908111 100755
--- a/frontend/src/App.tsx
+++ b/frontend/src/App.tsx
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 import { useEffect, useState, useCallback, useMemo } from 'react';
 import { Layout, Typography, Switch, Row, Col, Spin, Button, theme, Badge, Empty, Alert } from 'antd';
 import { ShoppingCartOutlined, FilterOutlined } from '@ant-design/icons';
-import { Link, useSearchParams } from 'react-router-dom';
+import { Link, useLocation, useSearchParams } from 'react-router-dom';
 import { Item, FilterOptions, fetchItems, fetchFilterOptions } from './api';
 import ItemCard from './components/ItemCard';
 import FilterDrawer from './components/FilterDrawer';
@@ -33,6 +33,7 @@ export default function App() {
   const [drawerOpen, setDrawerOpen] = useState(false);
   const [authModalOpen, setAuthModalOpen] = useState(false);
   const [searchParams, setSearchParams] = useSearchParams();
+  const location = useLocation();
   const { mode, toggle } = useThemeMode();
   const { customer, loading: authLoading } = useCustomerAuth();
   const { items: cartItems } = useCart();
@@ -127,8 +128,13 @@ export default function App() {
               <Button icon={<ShoppingCartOutlined />} />
             </Badge>
           </Link>
+          {/* The account link names the page to render behind the modal, so
+              closing it comes back here — filters and all — rather than to a
+              default. */}
           {customer ? (
-            <Link to="/account"><Button>My Account</Button></Link>
+            <Link to="/account" state={{ background: location }}>
+              <Button>My Account</Button>
+            </Link>
           ) : (
             <>
               <Link to="/login"><Button>Log in</Button></Link>
diff --git a/frontend/src/customer/Account.tsx b/frontend/src/customer/Account.tsx
index 3e5d68d..59f7d07 100755
--- a/frontend/src/customer/Account.tsx
+++ b/frontend/src/customer/Account.tsx
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 import { useEffect, useState } from 'react';
-import { Card, Typography, Switch, Button, Table, Modal, message, Space, Divider } from 'antd';
+import { Typography, Switch, Button, Table, Modal, message, Space, Divider } from 'antd';
 import { useNavigate } from 'react-router-dom';
 import { fetchMyOrders, OrderHistoryItem, updateConsent, exportMyData, deleteMyAccount } from './customerApi';
 import { setFavoriteAlerts } from './favoritesApi';
@@ -7,7 +7,13 @@ import { useCustomerAuth } from './CustomerAuthContext';
 
 const { Title, Text } = Typography;
 
-export default function Account() {
+interface Props {
+  // Supplied by the route, which decides where closing lands: back to the page
+  // the customer came from, or to the storefront when they arrived directly.
+  onClose: () => void;
+}
+
+export default function Account({ onClose }: Props) {
   const { customer, loading, refresh, logout } = useCustomerAuth();
   const [orders, setOrders] = useState<OrderHistoryItem[]>([]);
   const navigate = useNavigate();
@@ -59,16 +65,37 @@ export default function Account() {
       okButtonProps: { danger: true },
       onOk: async () => {
         await deleteMyAccount();
+        // The storefront is rendered behind this modal, so without clearing the
+        // session it goes on showing "My Account" and hiding Sign up for an
+        // account that no longer exists — visibly stale, not merely stale in
+        // state. replace, so Back cannot return to /account and bounce to
+        // /login.
+        refresh();
         message.success('Account deleted');
-        navigate('/');
+        navigate('/', { replace: true });
       }
     });
   }
 
   return (
-    <div style={{ maxWidth: 700, margin: '48px auto', padding: '0 16px' }}>
-      <Card>
-        <Title level={3}>My Account</Title>
+    <Modal
+      open
+      // The account view is a place a customer can be sent by an email link or
+      // a bookmark, so it is titled and closable rather than relying on the
+      // page behind it to say where they are.
+      title="My Account"
+      onCancel={onClose}
+      footer={null}
+      width={700}
+      // The view holds profile, two consents, order history, and the account
+      // controls, which is taller than a phone. Capping the body and letting it
+      // scroll keeps the title and close control in reach instead of pushing
+      // them off-screen.
+      style={{ maxWidth: 'calc(100vw - 32px)', top: 24 }}
+      styles={{ body: { maxHeight: '70vh', overflowY: 'auto' } }}
+      destroyOnHidden
+    >
+      <div>
         <Text>{customer.email}</Text>
         {!customer.email_verified && (
           <div style={{ marginTop: 8 }}>
@@ -98,6 +125,9 @@ export default function Account() {
           size="small"
           dataSource={orders}
           pagination={false}
+          // Scrolls within itself rather than widening the modal past the
+          // viewport on a phone.
+          scroll={{ x: 'max-content' }}
           columns={[
             { title: 'Item', dataIndex: 'item_name' },
             { title: 'Amount', dataIndex: 'amount_cents', render: (v: number) => `$${(v / 100).toFixed(2)}` },
@@ -112,7 +142,7 @@ export default function Account() {
           <Button onClick={handleLogout}>Log out</Button>
           <Button danger onClick={handleDelete}>Delete my account</Button>
         </Space>
-      </Card>
-    </div>
+      </div>
+    </Modal>
   );
 }
diff --git a/frontend/src/main.tsx b/frontend/src/main.tsx
index 8baad82..8ebbc7f 100755
--- a/frontend/src/main.tsx
+++ b/frontend/src/main.tsx
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 import React, { useEffect, useState } from 'react';
 import ReactDOM from 'react-dom/client';
-import { BrowserRouter, Routes, Route } from 'react-router-dom';
+import { BrowserRouter, Routes, Route, useLocation, useNavigate } from 'react-router-dom';
+import type { Location } from 'react-router-dom';
 import { ConfigProvider, theme as antdTheme } from 'antd';
 import 'antd/dist/reset.css';
 import App from './App';
@@ -26,6 +27,11 @@ const DARK_ACCENT = '#f0f0f0';
 
 const REDUCED_MOTION_QUERY = '(prefers-reduced-motion: reduce)';
 
+// What /account renders over when it was entered directly — a bookmark, a link
+// in an email, or a redirect after signing in. There is no page behind in that
+// case, and a modal floating on nothing has nowhere to close back to.
+const STOREFRONT_BACKDROP: Partial<Location> = { pathname: '/', search: '', hash: '' };
+
 // Respects the OS-level "reduce motion" accessibility setting by turning off
 // antd's transitions. Beyond the accessibility win, animated popups are a
 // standing source of flake in end-to-end tests, which drive the app with this
@@ -45,6 +51,48 @@ function usePrefersReducedMotion(): boolean {
   return prefers;
 }
 
+// /account is a route that renders as a modal over whatever the customer was
+// looking at, rather than a page of its own. It stays a real, linkable URL —
+// bookmarkable, refreshable, and closed by the browser's Back button — while
+// never being a place with no way out of it.
+function AppRoutes() {
+  const location = useLocation();
+  const navigate = useNavigate();
+  const state = location.state as { background?: Location } | null;
+  const isAccount = location.pathname === '/account';
+
+  // In-app navigation names the page to render behind. Anything else — a
+  // bookmark, an email link, the redirect after registering — falls back to the
+  // storefront, so closing always lands somewhere real.
+  const background = state?.background;
+  const backdrop = isAccount ? background ?? { ...location, ...STOREFRONT_BACKDROP } : location;
+
+  function closeAccount() {
+    // Back, when there is somewhere to go back to, so closing the modal and
+    // pressing Back do the same thing and neither leaves a dead entry behind.
+    if (background) navigate(-1);
+    else navigate('/', { replace: true });
+  }
+
+  return (
+    <>
+      <Routes location={backdrop as Location}>
+        <Route path="/" element={<App />} />
+        <Route path="/admin" element={<Admin />} />
+        <Route path="/login" element={<Login />} />
+        <Route path="/register" element={<Register />} />
+        <Route path="/cart" element={<Cart />} />
+        <Route path="/privacy" element={<PrivacyPolicy />} />
+        <Route path="/verify-email" element={<VerifyEmail />} />
+        <Route path="/forgot-password" element={<ForgotPassword />} />
+        <Route path="/reset-password" element={<ResetPassword />} />
+      </Routes>
+      {/* Rendered outside the Routes above, which are showing the backdrop. */}
+      {isAccount && <Account onClose={closeAccount} />}
+    </>
+  );
+}
+
 function Root() {
   const { mode } = useThemeMode();
   const prefersReducedMotion = usePrefersReducedMotion();
@@ -66,18 +114,7 @@ function Root() {
       }}
     >
       <BrowserRouter>
-        <Routes>
-          <Route path="/" element={<App />} />
-          <Route path="/admin" element={<Admin />} />
-          <Route path="/login" element={<Login />} />
-          <Route path="/register" element={<Register />} />
-          <Route path="/account" element={<Account />} />
-          <Route path="/cart" element={<Cart />} />
-          <Route path="/privacy" element={<PrivacyPolicy />} />
-          <Route path="/verify-email" element={<VerifyEmail />} />
-          <Route path="/forgot-password" element={<ForgotPassword />} />
-          <Route path="/reset-password" element={<ResetPassword />} />
-        </Routes>
+        <AppRoutes />
       </BrowserRouter>
     </ConfigProvider>
   );
diff --git a/frontend/tests/e2e/account-modal.spec.ts b/frontend/tests/e2e/account-modal.spec.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..b3a096c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/frontend/tests/e2e/account-modal.spec.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,133 @@
+import { test, expect, Page } from '@playwright/test';
+
+const PASSWORD = 'supersecret123';
+
+const uniqueEmail = () => `account-${Date.now().toString(36)}${Math.random().toString(36).slice(2, 7)}@example.com`;
+
+// Registering lands on /account, which is now the modal over the storefront.
+// Returns the address so a test can assert the right account is shown.
+async function registerAndCloseAccount(page: Page): Promise<string> {
+  const email = uniqueEmail();
+  await page.goto('/register');
+  await page.getByRole('textbox', { name: 'Email' }).fill(email);
+  await page.getByLabel('Password').fill(PASSWORD);
+  await page.getByRole('button', { name: 'Create account' }).click();
+  // Registration is a bcrypt round-trip, not a render. Unloaded it takes about
+  // half a second; with the suite's workers all registering at once it can pass
+  // Playwright's 5s default, which shows up as a failure on whichever test lost
+  // the race rather than as the load problem it is.
+  await expect(page).toHaveURL(/\/account/, { timeout: 20000 });
+  await closeAccount(page);
+  return email;
+}
+
+const accountModal = (page: Page) => page.getByRole('dialog', { name: 'My Account' });
+
+async function closeAccount(page: Page) {
+  await accountModal(page).getByRole('button', { name: 'Close' }).click();
+  await expect(accountModal(page)).toBeHidden();
+}
+
+test.describe('My Account opens as a modal', () => {
+  test('opens over the storefront and closes back to it, filters and all', async ({ page }) => {
+    await registerAndCloseAccount(page);
+
+    // A filtered view, to prove closing restores where the customer actually
+    // was rather than a bare storefront.
+    await page.goto('/?max_price=50000');
+    await expect(page.getByRole('button', { name: 'My Account' })).toBeVisible();
+
+    await page.getByRole('button', { name: 'My Account' }).click();
+    await expect(accountModal(page)).toBeVisible();
+    // Still a real, linkable URL rather than hidden view state.
+    await expect(page).toHaveURL(/\/account/);
+
+    await closeAccount(page);
+    await expect(page).toHaveURL(/max_price=50000/);
+  });
+
+  test('the browser back button closes it, the same as the close control', async ({ page }) => {
+    await registerAndCloseAccount(page);
+
+    await page.goto('/?max_price=50000');
+    await page.getByRole('button', { name: 'My Account' }).click();
+    await expect(accountModal(page)).toBeVisible();
+
+    await page.goBack();
+
+    await expect(accountModal(page)).toBeHidden();
+    await expect(page).toHaveURL(/max_price=50000/);
+  });
+
+  test('a direct visit renders the storefront behind it, so closing lands somewhere real', async ({ page }) => {
+    await registerAndCloseAccount(page);
+
+    // A bookmark, or the link in a verification email. There is no page behind
+    // in this case, which is what used to make /account a dead end.
+    await page.goto('/account');
+
+    await expect(accountModal(page)).toBeVisible();
+    await expect(page.getByRole('heading', { name: 'Redefined Designs' })).toBeVisible();
+
+    await closeAccount(page);
+    await expect(page).toHaveURL(/\/$/);
+    await expect(page.getByRole('button', { name: 'My Account' })).toBeVisible();
+  });
+
+  test('survives a reload, since it is a route rather than view state', async ({ page }) => {
+    const email = await registerAndCloseAccount(page);
+
+    await page.goto('/?max_price=50000');
+    await page.getByRole('button', { name: 'My Account' }).click();
+    await expect(accountModal(page)).toBeVisible();
+
+    await page.reload();
+
+    await expect(accountModal(page)).toBeVisible();
+    await expect(accountModal(page)).toContainText(email);
+  });
+
+  test('shows the signed-in account and its settings', async ({ page }) => {
+    const email = await registerAndCloseAccount(page);
+
+    await page.goto('/account');
+
+    const modal = accountModal(page);
+    await expect(modal).toContainText(email);
+    await expect(modal).toContainText('Order History');
+    // Scoped to the modal: the storefront behind it has a theme switch of its
+    // own, so an unscoped switch locator would be ambiguous.
+    await expect(modal.getByRole('switch')).toHaveCount(2);
+  });
+
+  test('deleting the account does not leave the page behind it looking signed in', async ({ page }) => {
+    await registerAndCloseAccount(page);
+    await page.goto('/account');
+
+    await accountModal(page).getByRole('button', { name: 'Delete my account' }).click();
+    await page.getByRole('dialog', { name: 'Delete your account?' })
+      .getByRole('button', { name: 'Delete my account' }).click();
+
+    // The storefront is rendered behind the modal, so a session left in place
+    // would visibly go on offering My Account for an account that is gone.
+    await expect(page.getByRole('button', { name: 'Sign up' })).toBeVisible();
+    await expect(page.getByRole('button', { name: 'My Account' })).toBeHidden();
+    await expect(page).toHaveURL(/\/$/);
+  });
+
+  test('stays usable on a phone, with the close control in reach', async ({ page }) => {
+    await registerAndCloseAccount(page);
+    await page.setViewportSize({ width: 390, height: 664 });
+    await page.goto('/account');
+
+    const modal = accountModal(page);
+    await expect(modal).toBeVisible();
+    // The view is taller than the viewport, so the body scrolls rather than
+    // pushing the title and close control off-screen.
+    await expect(modal.getByRole('button', { name: 'Close' })).toBeInViewport();
+    await expect(modal.getByText('Order History')).toBeVisible();
+
+    await closeAccount(page);
+    await expect(page).toHaveURL(/\/$/);
+  });
+});
diff --git a/frontend/tests/e2e/favorites.spec.ts b/frontend/tests/e2e/favorites.spec.ts
index 7108839..a680492 100644
--- a/frontend/tests/e2e/favorites.spec.ts
+++ b/frontend/tests/e2e/favorites.spec.ts
@@ -130,10 +130,13 @@ test.describe('Favoriting items', () => {
     await page.request.put('/api/customers/me/favorite-alerts', { data: { enabled: true } });
 
     await page.goto('/account');
-    const toggle = page.getByText('Email me when an item I favorited is sold');
-    await expect(toggle).toBeVisible();
+    // Scoped to the account modal. The storefront renders behind it and has a
+    // theme switch of its own, so an unscoped switch locator only picks the
+    // right control by DOM accident.
+    const account = page.getByRole('dialog', { name: 'My Account' });
+    await expect(account.getByText('Email me when an item I favorited is sold')).toBeVisible();
 
-    await page.getByRole('switch').last().click();
+    await account.getByRole('switch').last().click();
     await expect(page.getByText('Turned off')).toBeVisible();
 
     const me = await (await page.request.get('/api/customers/me')).json();